Whether to provide a hiding place, or to provide a storage compartment for small articles when no other means is available, shoes with hidden compartments have been the subject of previous patents. U.S. Pat. No. 2,478,411, issued to Martin in August 1949, discloses a lady's shoe having a concealed compartment in the heel portion of the shoe.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,507,991, issued to Neal in May of 1950, discloses a wedge type heeled shoe comprising a compartment with a hinged door on the inside sidewall of the shoe, accessible by key or bolt. U.S. Pat. No. 2,897,609, issued to Bodkin in August of 1959, discloses a storage cavity with a hinged door on the bottom of the heel of a shoe.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,904,901, issued to Goldstein in September of 1959, discloses a shoe having a compartment in the heel, incorporating a novel locking mechanism. The compartment is inserted into the heel against the frictional resistance of tongues, which tongues hold the container in a releasable locked position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,174,234, issued to Weitzner in March of 1965, discloses a shoe heel having a compartment in which a collapsed overshoe is stored. U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,982, issued to Gamm in October of 1985, discloses a wraparound pocket for footwear, comprising a pair of liners, one being an inner liner, the other being an outer liner where one of the liners has a slot provided therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,008, issued to Ruff in July of 1999, discloses an athletic shoe having a drawer slidably received within a compartment in the heel for storing articles within the heel. U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,920 issued to Morris et al. in March of 2001, discloses athletic footwear having an upwardly raised recess in the sole of the shoe wherein a low friction grind plate with compartment for storing components is formed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,612, issued to Kent in September of 2001, discloses many variations of concealed storage compartments contained within numerous different types of footwear. Said patent discloses storage compartments in the heels and toe portions of lady's footwear, men's boots, men's dress shoes, athletic footwear, and even in-line roller skates, otherwise known popularly as “roller blades” and ice skates. Access to such compartments are depicted as being gained by such means as hinged doors, slideable doors on grooved mechanisms, cap closures, flap openings from the insole of the shoe, entirely removable heels containing a cavity therein, slidable drawers, and cylindrical containers that are either inserted or screwed into the heel portion of the shoe.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,422, issued to Lewis in April of 2006, discloses a relatively small, concealed storage cavity formed within the heel portion of a lady's flat type shoe, which is accessible via a flap type mechanism from the insole of the shoe.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. In addition, the present invention is seen to solve many problems that are present in the prior art. Specifically, many of the aforementioned inventions have accessibility problems that the present invention has successfully eliminated. More particularly, the purpose of the present invention is to create a truly concealed, and relatively large storage compartment that is easily assessable while continuing to wear the shoe.
Further, in much of the prior art, the closure portion or door member of the storage compartment comes into direct contact with the ground. With such closure members being in direct contact with the ground, their structural integrity could become compromised by the attendant wear and tear. Also, with a closure portion or door member being in direct contact with the ground, one's personal items could become wet or otherwise soiled.
What is desired is a concealed storage system within at least one shoe, wherein the storage system comprises a storage volume capable of storing certain necessary items, including keys, cash, change, personal identification, credit cards, and the like. The preferred storage system would be aesthetically hidden. The preferred storage system would be designed to minimize contamination from environment during use.